Business Description:
Travel and Service above and beyond. Providing the finest tailor-made scuba diving vacation packages worldwide. Fully accredited by IATA and ASTA.
Categories
travel agencies & ticketers
Deep Blue Adventures
Swanton, OH 43558, USA
(419) 517-6309

Service

Will Recommend

Total Experience

Melyssa H.

Grantsville, UT

Deep Blue Adventures

Great Experience

My husband and I, as well as the group we normally travel with from our local dive shop, has used Deep Blue Adventures multiple times for booking our dive trips and travel arrangements. We have always loved the service and commitment from the people of DBA. Laurie is awesome to work with and will go out of her way to make sure that you are happy and completely satisfied with your vacation! She returns all calls and emails very punctually. She follows up on all questions and wants to know how everything went after your trip is over!
Below is my review of the latest trip booked by Deep Blue Adventures and Laurie :)

Above and Beyond at Utopia Village (Utila, Honduras)!!!!!
My husband and I recently spent a week at Utopia Village on the island of Utila.
The short story is …. YOU HAVE TO GO HERE!!!!!!!! It is Amazing. Wonderful. Fabulous
Everything about Utopia Village is superb!!!!
I do want to make mention that bad reviews on this place before 2014 were before the new owners, Paul and Chrisna took over ownership. Before booking our trip, I had read some of the reviews that were very negative. I was skeptical. But Utopia Village before 2014 and Utopia Village after 2014 are completely different places. Please disregard any reviews before 2014.
I cannot say enough good things about this place. If you are looking for a place that is a bit remote and off the beaten path, yet full service and first class treatment … this is the place! I will try to break it down into different categories.
Food: 5 stars
All meals and snacks are included. The food is comparable to any upscale NY City fine dining. The presentation is also part of the overall experience and ambiance.
Breakfast is a buffet, although I don’t like to call it that, because it is not what you would normally consider a buffet to be. It is freshly made, usually gourmet, with a variety of fruits, breads, cereals, meats, egg entrees, yogurt, juices ….made with local styles and ingredients, and if you just want a plain egg or something that is not being offered that morning …. All you have to do is ask for it. The main breakfast dishes were different every morning. They were delicious and they were filling!
Lunch: Your lunch order is taken at the end of breakfast. There are normally 2 main lunch dishes to choose from, and includes a soup or salad and a dessert.
Dinner: Your dinner order is taken sometime in the afternoon. Also a 3 course meal. The desserts were to die for!!!! You will not go hungry. Everything is fresh and prepared with LOVE!
Paul and Chrisna also like to switch it up a bit. Sometimes we ate in the pool (Yes the pool!!!! Hard to explain, but sooooooo lovely), or on the dock, or you can choose to have dinner in your room or in a private area by yourself for a romantic dinner.
Rooms: 5 stars
We upgraded to an oceanfront bungalow. I cant speak to what the standard rooms were like, but I didn’t hear any complaints from any of the other guests while we were there. The oceanfront room has a huge porch with lounge chairs and a swing. We spent a lot of time on the swing!! The room size is huge! With a couch, table and chairs, and mini kitchenette area. The bathroom was spacious, with enough counter space and a very large shower. Our bed was King size and very comfortable. The sleeping area can be closed off from the living/sitting area. The bungalow also had a large loft area.
One issue that I almost always have in hotel/motel/resort rooms is lighting and having it be bright enough. Not an issue in this room! There was plenty of ceiling light as well as plenty of windows for natural light. The rooms have coffee (beer and snacks (candy & chips) for purchase), drinking water, hair dryer, in-room safe, ceiling fans and air conditioning.
Beach: 3 stars
The beach is not where you are going to spend your day. Although we were here for the diving, I do like to have a soft and sandy beach. Most of Honduras and Utila has a coral and rocky shoreline. Utopia Village has definitely made improvements to their shoreline to allow it to be more user friendly than the average Utila waterfront. There is sand and it is a softer finer sand than adjacent properties. But you won’t be walking into the water barefoot. The beachfront area does have a gradual entrance into the water so that you are able to go in if you are wanting to swim, snorkel, paddleboard or kayak, but because the amazing reef is so close to shore, it’s not a beach area like you would except to find somewhere else in the Caribbean with white powder sand.
Service: 5 stars
The staff at Utopia is top notch!!!! They seemed to have found the most incredible locals and trained them with such attention to detail that you never are wanting for anything!!! The employees are friendly, attentive, professional and seem truly happy to work at Utopia Village!!! (While I am on the subject of employees and service, please remember and be prepared to tip for the great service at the end of your stay. These incredible people are so deserving and appreciative of your generosity!)
Paul and Chrisna are always around making sure that you are happy and are in need of nothing! They are very hands-on, from picking you up and dropping you off at the airport or dock, to seeing you off while shore diving, making sure your meals are perfect … Paul was even diving with us most of the time! They truly care about your experience and it shows. (Upon arrival you will hear the background story to how they ended up in Utila and also I was astounded to learn how they “give back”!)
Diving: 5 stars
Diving at Utopia Village is Valet Service diving. They do ALL of the work for you! Everyday! The dive masters on the boat will help you in the water and out of the water. They will set up your gear, they will change out your tanks, and they will take care of all your gear at the end of the day. Or if you want to do it yourself, that is an option too. Nitrox is available and they take into account how deep your dive will be that day and vary the percentages accordingly. (On a deep dive day our nitrox was about 31%, on shallower days it was up to 34%).
Professional and knowledgeable service by all dive masters and boat captains! Everyone was friendly, helpful and willing to do all that they can for you. Snacks are served on the boat between dives and water is always available.
Shore diving is incredible! The reef is right there!!!! Once you enter the water the beauty is remarkable. A 100 foot (???) swim brings you to the wall that drops down to 120 feet. The shore diving is so good, you almost don’t have to go on the boat 
Utopia has a brand new dock to make entrance into the water effortless, and exiting the water is by a set of stairs back onto the dock. The dock has solar lights to light the walkway at night and there are lights below the surface of the water to guide your way back to shore during night dives. The lights are also a cool place to sit and watch the tarpon and sharks swimming below. For shore dives, my husband was given the larger sized tank to use as he goes through so much more air than I do. Most dives were over 1 hour! We did a guided night dive, a couple of night dives on our own, and also an early morning dawn dive, that our divemaster Chris accompanied us on even though it was his day off!!!!
Amenities:
I cant really speak to most of the amenities because we didn’t use many of them. We were diving fools! But there is a (very nice brand new infinity) pool, hot tub, propane fire pit, game room, pool table, kayaks, paddleboards, a bar… you can arrange for a massage, off shore fishing, a trip to Utila town, to Pigeon Cay or to Water Cay. Since you cant dive your last day there before flying, Paul gives a tour of Pigeon Cay. This is a must-do! It is so interesting to learn more of the culture and how life is for many of the locals.
My husband and I arranged to be taken out to Water Cay for a half day. We were dropped off with a picnic basket, 2 hammocks (which the boat captain set up for us), towels and lovely surprise for us inside the picnic basket! (I wont ruin it for you incase you also decide to picnic and relax at Water Cay). We took our snorkel gear and had a great time!
Overall:
Because of the logistics of getting to and from Utopia Village, stays at Utopia are generally Saturday to Saturday. For us, it was a flight into San Pedro Sula, and a puddle hopper to Utila. After that it gets exciting with the 3 wheeled vehicles to the dock and a 15 minute boat ride to the resort.
This is a small resort. I am not sure how many rooms there are … 25 maybe? You will not be anonymous. Everyone will know your name. Employees and fellow guests. It is an incredibly unique place. You will be amazed at all they have done to the buildings and the grounds, especially considering the location and limited resources for creating such a wonderful place.
Utopia Village: 5 stars!!!!!!!
Top Notch! You must experience Utopia Village!